The Unlikely Hero - Intro
by Kiraiko
Summary: Celeste Dupont leaves her home in High Rock with big dreams of adventure, but seems to find it all too soon and realizes that she isn't ready for it at all. Unfortunately the events she sets into motion by coming to Skyrim cannot be stopped, and she finds herself sucked into the turmoil.


Okay, so taking a bit of a break from my Mass Effect FF to write this since I've been playing Skyrim lately. This is just an intro to Celeste, one of my favorite Dragon Borns lol the stories about her will be posted on their own rather than added to this as chapters. For the most part, I'll be doing stuff that I just feel like doing rather than documenting her entire journey through Skyrim and the Civil War, because that would take forever.

...

Celeste Dupont had always had a dull life. Her parents called it safe, and normal, but she thought it was empty and unfulfilled. She felt that she had far more potential than being some court mage or the wife of some lord or another. There had to be more to life than that. Her parents blamed her thirst for adventure, her 'rebellious' (she was hardly rebellious by most standards, but to her parents she was borderline wild) nature on her nanny, a Nord woman, who had read her stories about great heroes and wars all through her childhood. One of the saddest days in her life had been when her parents had sent her away in an attempt to curb their daughter's behavior. She had loved Helga like she was her mother, she might as well have been with how much time the woman had spent with Celeste, by comparison her own mother had been little more than as a stranger. So Helga had left with her son, Celeste's milk brother, Gerulf, returning to Skyrim.

Perhaps it was because of this that Celeste had decided it was Skyrim that she would run to one day when she finally got away from her family. In her over active imagination, she saw herself traveling to Skyrim and having many adventure, and one day she would find Helga and she'd be happy again. Celeste tried to tell herself that that was a childish dream, but she couldn't help but wish for it.

For most of Celeste's life she had been trained in the art of magic, Magnus's gift to the races of Nirn. It was a skill the Bretons of High Rock were especially skilled at thanks to the Admeri blood that flowed through their veins, which also made them fair of skin and slight of build. Celeste was very gifted with magic, and it was her parents' hope that she would make her mark among the courts of Daggerfell with this skill, unfortunately, Celeste lacked political ambition, as well as the ruthless streak that was required to survive the courts of Daggerfell. Her brother, Henry, was far more suited to this life style, and though he was not as skilled at magic as his older sister, it had never been a secret among her family as to which child was the favorite of their parents.

Celeste could not say what had spurred her on that late summer day to finally decide to leave home. Maybe it was that her brother had been accepted to a sorcerer's academy, something that her parents had never bothered with for Celeste, seeing it as a waste of time. After all, what did it matter if Celeste was the greatest sorceress in Nirn if she didn't have the ambition to put it to use? The thought of living the rest of her life as this disappointment to her parents, to one day be married off in the hopes that she would produce children with more desire to pursue worthy goals, had probably been the final factor to push Celeste into leaving. Whatever the reason, she'd packed her things, taken as much food as she could carry, and set off for Skyrim. She took little money, taking some jewelry instead to trade for gold. Celeste was perhaps naïve and inexperience, but one thing that all Bretons were taught was money; how to get it, how to save it, how to spend it. She was confident that she wouldn't be swindled out of money for her trinkets.

Small and blonde, with large blue eyes, Celeste appeared younger than her seventeen years, something that had always caused her grief, but sometimes could be used to her advantage, especially in combination with her pretty face. Today, however, was not one of those days when she was able to wile her way out of trouble by appearing young and innocent.

She was walking along the main road into Skyrim, mostly alone, though sometimes other travels on horse back would pass her by going one direction or another. Celeste's heart swelled as she looked ahead to the huge mountain range that marked the border to Skyrim, this road lead to a pass that would take her through those mountains and into the stark, beautiful land of the Nords, whose cold reaches forged strong men and women. Celeste felt a little tired, but she pushed herself to continue, excitement fueling her, motivating her to keep going. Finally she was among the mountains, her steps light, using her staff as a walking stick, her other hand holding onto the strap of her pack. She hummed a tune that Helga had taught her as a child, a Nord folk song, and day dreamed about finding her old nanny and her milk brother Gerulf, and finally feeling like some one loved her again. That was all she really wanted after all. All this desire for adventure was all well and good, and she would certainly like to have some adventures before she found Helga, but what Celeste truly wanted was not to feel like a disappointed, not to feel like the people around her looked at her with pity and regret. Helga had never made her feel like that.

Her day dreams were interrupted though as a dark-haired Nord, rather small for his race, came barreling down the road on the back of a frightened-looking horse, both of them had wide, fearful eyes. Celeste then realized that there were other men on horses chasing them, shouting for them to stop. Celeste drew a breath and tried to decide whether to help the guards, as they obviously were by their matching uniforms, in their pursuit of this man, but decided that she'd best stay out of the way. Unfortunately for her though, the frightened horse suddenly skidded to a halt and bucked, sending the dark-haired Nord flying. He landed nearly on top of Celeste, and lay on the ground on his back, groaning. Then the guards were nearly on top of them and he was up, grabbing Celeste by the arms. "Please! Help me!" Celeste tried to jerk herself free from the man's grasp but had no luck.

"Let go!" she shouted, trying to hit him with her staff.

Finally the guards reached them and pulled the man off of her, despite how he kicked and shouted. "Oh, thank you!" Celeste breathed, rubbing her arm with her free hand where the man had grabbed her.

"Got you, you damned horse thief!" She heard one of the guards say, then, "And grab that one too! She was helping him!"

Celeste blinked and looked around, wondering who she was talking about, until one of the guards grabbed her. "What? No! I wasn't helping him! I've never seen him in my life!" She gasped, trying to struggle free from the strong hands gripping her arms. "Let me go!" She shouted, gripping her staff with both hands as they tried to take it from her. She felt something snap inside of her as they pried it out of her hands and threw it to the ground, fear and anger like she'd never felt before welling up inside her. Her hands glowed suddenly and she lashed out with a fire ball, sending the guards who had grabbed her scampering away with their clothes on fire. Then there was searing pain in the back of her head, and then blackness.

The world came back to her slowly, one painful minute at a time, the blackness fading, but the pain increasing. What was going on? Where was she? She could hear birds, hoof beats, and the creak of wheels and carts. She felt her weight shifting from side to side as the seat under her was jerked about on a rough road. All of this combined slowly, each piece of the world around her being added, like beads to a string to form a necklace until it was complete. Finally she realized that she was moving, and she was in a cart. Celeste let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes a crack, seeing that she was, indeed, in the back of a cart with three Nords. One of which was the dark-haired horse thief that had gotten her in this mess. If she'd had the energy, she would have glared at him. She tried to move, and found that her hands were bound.

"Hey," some one said, and she looked up to see a blonde Nord watching her, "Oh good, you're awake. Those guards knocked you over the head pretty good."

So that's what had happened. "My head is killing me..." Celeste muttered.

"Yeah, having some damn Imperial drive the butt of his sword into your skull will do that," the Nord said. "They thought you were trying to help this worthless horse thief get across the border," he explained.

"But I wasn't! I've never seen him before! I was just trying to get into Skyrim..." She protested.

The Nord shrugged, "He tried to tell them that but I they didn't believe him, or they're just angry that you set two of them on fire." Celeste let out a sigh, she had done that she supposed... but they'd attacked her for no reason! "And I'm afraid you've come to Skyrim at a bad time."

Celeste blinked and looked at him, her eyes protesting against being open at all, but she ignored them, "What do you mean?"

"What he means is him and his little Stormcloaks friends have gone and ruined the peace here in Skyrim," the thief suddenly spoke up.

Celeste blinked and looked at him, "Stormcloaks?"

The thief wasn't looking at her though, he was glaring at the blonde Nord hatefully, "Everything was fine until you and your beloved leader had to go and stir up trouble. The Empire was nice and complacent, now though all the guards and soldiers are on high alert. You got me caught! She and I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you!" The thief looked at her, his eyes were fervent, almost panicked, "We're not the ones they're after, it's these damn Stormcloaks! It's their fault!" Celeste just looked a little taken aback, edging further away from the thief. She didn't know why he was acting so crazy, so he'd gotten caught stealing a horse, he'd do some jail time and be done with it. She'd probably get in trouble for setting those guards on fire but surely she could reason with them and make them understand that she had nothing to do with the thief, or these Stormcloaks.

"No point in acting like a frightened child now, thief," The blonde Nord told him with a scowl, "Show some honor while you can."

"Shut up back there!" The guard at the front of the cart shouted over his shoulder. Everyone ignored him though.

"What's your name?" The Nord asked her.

"Celeste," She answered.

"Where are you from?"

"High Rock," She answered, not bothering to give the name of her home town as it was small and few knew of it.

"A Breton then eh? Explains you being a magic user," He sounded slightly disapproving, and she knew it was because the Nords saw magic as a deceitful way to fight, for cowards and weaklings. She just sighed a bit and didn't answer him. "What were you doing coming into Skyrim?" He asked.

"Seeking adventure..." Celeste muttered and the Nord laughed, a deep, hearty sound.

"Well I guess you found it eh?" He chuckled a bit, "My name is Ralof." He bowed his head slightly and Celeste did the same.

"Who is he?" She asked, finally looking at the third Nord, who had a gag in his mouth. He was wearing finely made clothes and a bear skin cloak, he was obviously some one important. The Nord gave her a hard look, and Celeste felt herself shrink slightly.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," Ralof said, chest puffing up with pride, "The_ true_ High King of Skyrim."

"Ulrfic Stormcloak is the Jarl of Windhelm, not the High King," The horse thief corrected snidely, then looked at Celeste, "And he's the leader of these rebels."

Celeste looked between the thief and Ralof, who were now glaring at one another. "Where are they taking us?" Celeste asked suddenly to distract them.

Ralof frowned, and looked her darkly, "I don't know... but wherever it is... Sovngarde awaits."

Celeste gave him a startled look, but it was the thief who spoke. "Oh gods!" He choked out, almost sobbed, "This can't be happening!" His panic was renewed, and he shook his head insistently as if he could wake himself up from this nightmare.

Ralof's expression softened slightly, "What's your name horse thief?" He asked.

The thief didn't look at him, his head hanging low, "Lokir, of Rorikstead."

"Think of home, Lokir, a Nord's last thoughts should be of home," Ralof whispered.

Celeste just stared, her blue eyes wide. "Y-you mean they're going to execute us?" Her voice was high pitched in alarm. The Nords just looked at her, Lokir just hung his head, and she thought she heard a sob.

"General Tullius!" Celeste heard a guard shout, "The headsman awaits!" Her heart started hammering in her chest, and she stared around at her unwilling companions, and then looked ahead. They were approaching a town, it's gates opening to accept them. The guard who had spoken stood atop the ramparts.

"Good, let's get the over with," said an Imperial riding ahead of the carts on a horse. She supposed that was General Tullius. If she could just speak with him, explain things, surely he'd understand that this was all just a big mistake!

"Look at him..." Ralof growled as he looked over his shoulder at the General, who rode away from the carts to greet two Aldmeri on horse back, "General Tullius." The Nord spit in distaste. "And it looks like the Thalmor are with him... bet those damn Elves have something to do with this," He added, glaring at the group as the cart trundled away.

"What are the Thalmor doing here?" Celeste asked, her eyes wide. The Aldmeri Dominion had been dominating Tamriel here of late, and it looked like Skyrim was next on their list of countries to have come to heel, refusing to allow a human to rise to the Pantheon of gods as Talos.

"Putting their noses where they don't belong..." Ralof hissed, "They don't like that we rightfully worship Talos as he so deserves. Damn Elves would never allow a human to become a god."

Everyone was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Celeste's head was on a swivel, trying to see something, anything that might help her. The town was small from the looks of it, and seemed to be more of a fort than a town really. Ralof said it was Helgen, and then started going on about some girl that had lived here that he'd had a crush on. That was nice, Celeste really couldn't care less considering she was about to be beheaded simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

"Get those prisoners out of the carts now!" She heard a gruff female voice shouting as the carts pulled into a courtyard of sorts.

"Why are we stopping?" Lokir asked, eyes wide.

"Why do you think? End of the line," Ralof said gravely. Celeste started panting she was breathing so fast, terrified and nearly panicked. They stopped and one by one, hands still bound, they all got out, even Celeste, standing close to Ralof, eyes wide. The blonde Nord glanced at her, and tried to give her a reassuring smile, "Can't keep the gods waiting." If that had been intended to comfort her, it didn't work.

"Wait! She and I aren't rebels!" Lokir tried to tell a near by guard, who only gave him a disgusted look and walk away.

"Face your death with some courage, thief," Ralof growled, "Even the girl has more strength than you."

Hardly. Celeste felt like she was going to faint, or scream, but she didn't do either one. She was so terrified all she could do was stand there and stare around her dumbly. It didn't feel real. She couldn't be about to die. This was just some nightmare. She'd wake up back home in her bed and forget all about dreams of adventure, she'd never want to leave High Rock ever again. Celeste shut her eyes tight, and tried to wake herself up, biting her tongue. The fact that she felt pain and was still in Helgen when she opened her eyes confirmed her fears, this was not a dream. She was about to die.

"You have to tell them this is a mistake!" Lokir begged Ralof, "We're not with you!"

The blonde Nord frowned at the thief, "They won't believe me and you know it. They want bodies, you were just unlucky enough to cross their paths." He looked at Celeste, "You too I guess, little one." She just stared at him with wide eyes, feeling them begin to sting with tears. Ralof frowned, and let out a small sigh before looking back ahead.

"Step forward and proceed to the block as we call your name! One at a time!" The same Imperial woman from before shouted. Celeste was terrified of her and she'd only been around her for a few moments.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm," said a Nord in Imperial armor next to the woman, he didn't yell, only spoke in a loud, disapproving tone.

Ulfric walked away, head high and chest out, Ralof watched him go with a reverent look in his eye, "It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," He said to his leader.

"Ralof of Riverwood," The man called next, and the two Nords locked gazes in a way that told Celeste that they knew one another.

Ralof looked away from him to look at Celeste, "That's me then." And he walked away.

"Lokir of Rorikstead!" Was the next name that was called, and the horse thief stumbled forward, a wild look in his eyes. "No! I'm not a rebel!" He shouted, "You can't do this!" And he took off running. Celeste watched, wide eyed, and had to resist the urge to run with him.

"Halt!" The Imperial woman shouted menacingly.

"You can't kill me!" Lokir screamed, running as fast as he could with his hands bound.

"Archers!" Came the shout of the Imperial, and two arrows blossomed from Lokir's back as he ran, his legs jerking mid stride, causing him to tumble and then lay still in the dirt, bleeding, but not breathing.

Celeste watched, wide-eyed, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, her breathing quick and shallow, her head beginning to spin. Her face felt hot, and there was the sudden urge to vomit.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The Imperial snarled, and Celeste realized the woman was glaring at her. Celeste swallowed and just stared at her, wide-eyed and frightened.

"Wait," The Nord soldier said, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. She was small and frightened, entirely different from the posturing rebels around her, and though she had the blonde hair and blue eyes of their shared ancestors, her facial structure was far more delicate and refined. "Who are you?"

Celeste leapt at the chance to maybe save herself, "Celeste Dupont, from High Rock," She told him quickly, stepping forward.

"A Breton? What're you doing here in Skyrim? Running away from some court intrigue in Daggerfell?" He asked suspiciously.

"No! Not at all!" Celeste insisted, "I was coming to Skyrim to find some one." The whole adventure thing just sounded silly, she decided it was best to just not mention that. The Nord gave her a long, studious look before he looked at the Imperial captain.

"This one isn't on the list," He told her.

The captain gave Celeste a long, hard look, and then a cold smirk curled one side of her mouth, "Forget the list, she goes to the block."

Celeste felt like she was going to faint as all the blood drained from her face, "N-no, please! I didn't do anything!"

"Captain, perhaps the General-"

"I said she goes to the block so she goes to the block!" The Imperial screamed in the Nord's face.

He frowned, and then nodded, "Yes ma'am." He sighed and walked over to Celeste, "I'm sorry," He told her quietly, taking her by the arm and guiding her gently to the crowd of prisoners standing about the chopping block.

"P-please, help me," She begged him quietly, "I didn't _do_ anything!"

The Nord looked at her, brow furrowed, opened his mouth to say something, but glanced towards his Captain, who was watching him like a hawk. "I'm sorry, I can't," He told her quietly, releasing her arm, "I'll make sure your body gets sent back to High Rock."

Her body.

Celeste felt her knees give out, but the Nord grabbed her by her arms and kept her from falling. He held onto her until she felt her legs regain some of their strength, and then walked away. Ralof was standing near by, he looked at her for a long moment, his eyes heavy, as if trying to tell her something, and then looked away. Maybe he was trying to comfort her, or maybe he felt sorry for her, she didn't know. And she didn't care. She was going to die here. Celeste squeezed her eyes shut and tried to choke back a sob, wishing she'd never left her home. General Tullius was making some speech, condemning Ulfric and his bid for rebellion, but she didn't care. She was going to die and nothing mattered anymore. She'd done nothing to deserve this, why was this happening to her?

She didn't notice when everyone was momentarily distracted by some strange, distant noise.

A priestess was saying a prayer, and without thinking about it her mind began to recite it with her, some desperate attempt at appealing to the Nine to help her, to save her. She knew that the worship of Talos was outlawed, but right now, she'd pray to just about anything if it meant she'd live. _As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Nine Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved... _

"For the love of Talos!" the priestess and Celeste's own silent prayer were interrupted by one of the Stormcloaks, who walked forward to the chopping block, "Shut up and let's just get this over with. It's bad enough you're going to kill me, do I have to listen to this nonsense too?" He scoffed and dropped to his knees heavily before the block, laying his head down. Celeste stared, wide-eyed, as the executioner lifted his axe on high. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperial, can you say the same?" She squeezed her blue eyes shut at the last moment, unable to watch the axe hit home, but hear the wet thud as it sank through the Stormcloak's neck and hit the wood of the block underneath it. A soft, shaky sob escaped Celeste, her hands beginning to shake, knowing that she would share the same fate soon.

People jeered, either at the Stormcloaks or the Imperials, and she heard Ralof exhale a deep sigh. "As fearless in death as he was in life," he whispered.

"Next..." The Imperial Captain scanned the group of prisoners for a moment until her eyes rested on the quivering girl, her lips curling in a cold, cruel smile, "The Breton."

Celeste's eyes went so wide she thought they would fall out of her head, and she just stood there, staring at the Imperial, shaking her head slowly. "No," She tried to take a step back, but an Imperial took her by the arm, "Please! No! I didn't do anything!" She shouted, staring around desperately, her eyes begging for help. Everyone just stared at her with a mixture of pity or disgust, the Nord soldier took her from the guard and guided her towards the block. "Please," She whispered, staring up at him, tears rolling over her high cheekbones.

The soldier looked from her to the Captain, who gave a disgusted scoff and marched over, pushing the Nord out of the way and shoving Celeste down onto her knees and then pushing her head down onto the block. "No!" Celeste screamed, her body shaking with sobs, "I didn't do anything!"

There was the sound of a roar, closer than it had been before, but she was too concerned with her own imminent death to really notice it. "There it is again..." The Nord soldier muttered, looking around with a furrowed brow.

The Captain scoffed again, "Stop trying to stall! It's nothing! Execute the prisoner!" Celeste let out a wail of fear and anguish as the headsman started to lift his axe.

There was another roar, even closer now. "What in Oblivion was that?" Some one said.

"Sentries! What do you see?" The captain shouted, and Celeste opened her eyes enough to look around, seeing that everyone was looking up and around, trying to figure out what was making that noise. Everyone but the headsman that is. Celeste shut her eyes tight again with a whimper, hearing the sentries yell that something was in the clouds.

Then there were more shouts and the sound of something big coming down and all but colliding with one of the towers. Celeste opened her eyes to stare at the tower behind the headsman, who still had his axe raised, but was distracted, looking over his shoulder at the monstrous beast that was now perched atop the tower, glaring down at them. It roared so loudly that the headsman stumbled away, dropping his axe.

"DRAGON!" Some one shouted, and then all hell broke loose.

The dragon, as that was what it surely was, opened it's mouth wide, and a sound like thunder seemed to make the very air explode around them. Celeste's vision blurred and her head spun, she could only just barely hear the muffled shouts and screams of others as they ran away from the creature in a panic. It roared again, and this time the force of it knocked Celeste over and off of the chopping block, she raised her bound hands in an attempt to cover her ears, but wasn't able to.

Then she felt some one grab her arm and try to pull her up to her feet, "Celeste! Come on, get up!" they sounded like they were shouting at her through a wall, but she looked up to see it was Ralof. She managed to get to her feet and he pulled at her arm, "Let's go! I don't think the gods are going to give us another chance!" And he took off across the court yard. Celeste stared after him dumbly for a moment, still stunned from nearly being killed and then the blast of the dragon's roar. Ralof turned and looked at her, "Come on!" He shouted and Celeste felt her feet began to move and she found herself running after him towards another tower. He opened the door and she hurried through before he followed and closed it behind them.

There were Stormcloaks inside the tower, including Ulfric Stormcloak, she stared at him before Ralof took her by the arm, guiding her to the far side of the room. "Jarl Ulfric, is that really a dragon?" He asked of his leader, "Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages..." The Jarl said gravely, then looked at the men around him, "We need to move,_ now_!" There were shouts of agreement, and Ralof produced a dagger, cutting the ropes that bound Celeste's hands.

"We have to go up through the tower, follow me," He told her before going up the spiraling stairs. Celeste followed, but they were only just nearing the first landing when the stone wall exploded and suddenly the dragon's head jutted through, jaws opening wide in a fierce roar that was accompanied by a torrent of flames. The man who had been standing on the landing fell back, throwing his arms up with a scream as if to protect himself from the flames that engulfed him, but it was a useless attempt.

Just as suddenly as it was there, the dragon was gone, and Celeste and Ralof were left standing there in stunned silence.

"Damn it!" Ralof cursed suddenly, running across the ruins of the landing to the blocked off stairs. Celeste followed and peered out of the gaping hole where the wall had once been, feeling terrified. A dragon. A dragon! Dragons weren't around anymore! They were all long dead! Slaughtered after the fall of Alduin during the Dragon War. She couldn't believe this was really happening. She felt a mixture of amazement and fear at the thought of a real dragon being in Tamriel.

"Celeste!" Ralof shouted, snapping her out of her wonderment.

"W-what?" She stammered as he came to stand next to her at the hole.

He looked down and then at her, "We can't continue through the tower," He told her, gesturing towards the blocked stairs. "You see that inn down there?" He pointed through the hole to the collapsed roof of the inn next to the tower, "Jump down to the inn and keep going, we'll catch up with you."

"You want me to do _what_?" Celeste asked shrilly, looking from him down to the inn and then back to him, "I can't jump that far down! I'll break my leg or something!"

"You'll be fine! And a broken leg is better than being eaten!" Ralof snapped at her.

"No! I can't!" Celeste said, shaking her head and backing away from the hole, but Ralof placed a large strong hand on her upper back and pushed her forward.

"Yes you can!" And he shoved her.

Celeste jumped as best she could, flailing on the way down and landing on the floor of the second story of the inn. She tumbled and rolled to a stop, her head spinning. "Ralof!" She turned to scream at him, but when she looked up at the tower, he was gone. "Crazy Nords!" She shouted and got to her feet, her body aching.

She heard a roar and the whoosh of air as the dragon flew overhead, making her duck down and scramble further into the inn so that she wasn't out in the open. The stair case leading down was gone, leaving the beams of the ceiling as the only way down. She gripped one and lowered herself before dropping the rest of the way, hitting the floor and hurrying through the open door way. She found herself back out in Helgen, and saw a few Nords, including the soldier from before, crouched near by behind the ruins of a building. They were yelling at a man and his son out in the middle of one of the road.

The man was on the ground, struggling to move, the boy pulling on his arm. "Go Haming! Leave me!" The man shouted, his son shaking his head.

"No! Hurry Papa! The dragon is coming! Hurry!" Haming shouted back, staring wide eyed up at the sky.

"Haming! Come here! Now!"

"Go Haming!" The soldier and the boy's father were both shouting at him until he finally obey and ran to the soldier just as the dragon descended, landing on the fallen Nord and spewing fire at the Nords.

"Torolf!"

"Papa!" The soldier and the boy were screaming as they scurried to cover. Finally the fire stopped and the dragon left, and Celeste trotted over.

"Still alive Breton?" The soldier asked solemnly, looking away from the boy, Haming, who was crying in the arms of an elderly Nord.

"Yes..." Celeste answered quietly.

"Well, you better come with me if you want to stay that way," The soldier told her.

Celeste blinked, "What? Go with you?" She glanced back at the tower she had just jumped from.

"Yes, come with me," The soldier looked at the elderly Nord.

"Gunnar, take care of the boy, I have to find General Tullius and join the defense," He told him.

The old Nord nodded his wizened head, "Gods protect you Hadvar." So that was his name.

Hadvar ran off and Celeste ran after him, her eyes trying to see everything at once as they ran across a clearing.

Just then a shadow loomed overhead and she and Hadvar ran into the gap between a wall and a building. "Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar shouted as the dragon landed above, both he and Celeste pressing themselves against the stone. The dragon's head hovered over them, unaware that they were standing just below. He gave a deafening roar, spouted some fire, and took off. What was he doing? What was going on? None of this made sense, what was a dragon doing here of all places, now of all time? "Follow me, quickly!" And Hadvar ran off. Celeste followed, beginning to feel exhausted, but kept up as they ran through the town, dodging the dragon's attacks and trying to find the General. The town was ruined and burning, soldiers were fighting and dying, charred bodies littered the ground. Celeste had never seen or imagined anything like it.

Finally it seemed the General had left, so Hadvar began to run towards one of the towers, saying something about escaping through some tunnels. "Just you and me now Breton, stay close!" He shouted, Celeste following him.

Just then, Ralof came running towards them. Hadvar stopped, and the two Nords glared at one another. "Ralof! You damned traitor!" Hadvar snarled, "Get out of my way!"

"We're escaping Hadvar! And you're not stopping us this time!" Ralof shouted triumphantly.

"Fine!" Hadvar shouted back, "I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"

"Celeste! Come on, into the keep!" Ralof shouted, starting to run for a nearby door.

"With me, Breton!" Hadvar shouted.

Then they both paused and looked at one another, and then her. Celeste blinked and looked back and forth, feeling like a bone being tugged on by two dogs. "I..." She looked at Ralof, who had been protecting her and helping her, but was a wanted fugitive, and then Hadvar, who had maybe not been as nice, but had still been looking out for her, and was an Imperial Soldier. If anyone could help her clear her name so she could get back home, it was him. "I'm sorry Ralof! I need to go home, and I'll never be safe if I run off with a rebel," She told him, before moving towards Hadvar.

Ralof watched her, and then nodded, "I understand, Talos guide you Celeste!" and he ran off to the keep.

Hadvar glanced at her and took off without a word, and Celeste followed him.


End file.
